Embodiments of the inventive concept relate to an apparatus and a method for treating a substrate, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for treating a substrate in a high-pressure atmosphere.
In order to manufacture a semiconductor device, a desired pattern is formed on a substrate through various processes such as, photographing, etching, ashing, ion injection, and deposition of thin films. Various treatment liquids are used in the processes, and contaminants and particles are generated during the process. In order to solve this, a cleaning process for cleaning contaminants and particles is essentially performed before and after the process.
In general, in the cleaning process, a substrate is dried after being treated with a chemical and a rinsing liquid. The drying operation is a process of drying a rinsing liquid residing on a substrate, and the rinsing liquid on the substrate is substituted by an organic solvent, such as isopropyl alcohol, a surface tension of which is lower than that of the rinsing liquid, and then the organic solvent is removed. However, a critical dimension (CD) between the patterns formed in the substrate becomes smaller, the organic solvent residing in spaces between the patterns cannot be easily removed.
In recent years, a process of removing an organic solvent residing on a substrate by using a supercritical fluid has been performed. The supercritical treatment process is performed in a high-pressure space closed from the outside to satisfy a specific condition of a supercritical fluid.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a general supercritical treatment apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, a process chamber for performing a supercritical treatment process has an upper body 2 and a lower body 4. The lower body 4 has an open-topped cup shape, and the upper body 2 has a plate shape. The upper body 2 and the lower body 4 are combined with each other to form a treatment space therebetween. In order to close the treatment space even in a high-pressure condition, a cylinder continuously provides a strong force in a direction in which the upper body 2 and the lower body 4 become closer to each other.
However, as the cylinder 6 continuously provides a strong force during a process, stresses are applied to the cylinder 6. Accordingly, the cylinder 6 may be damaged, and the atmosphere in the treatment space is leaked to the outside due to the high pressure of the treatment space.